-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Two-Person Ball
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Even though it was likely her first time separated from her Imperial Guards, she maintained a dignified composure, making me want to praise her for her admirable spirit.
However, the current situation was too urgent for casual chatter.
Now, the enemies were so close I could hear their footsteps without even straining my ears.
"Your Imperial Highness. They'll be here any moment now."
Sylvia nodded, her gaze fixed on the door.
"Yes. I know."
"Then, when they open the door, could you fire your gun twice towards the ceiling?"
"...The ceiling?"
Not at the enemy? Sylvia turned to me, her expression puzzled, but I was quite serious.
"It doesn't necessarily have to be the ceiling. The goal is simply to create gunshots."
"Why on earth…? No, never mind. I understand."
Sylvia seemed to understand the urgency of the situation, as she didn't argue with my suggestion.
Thump, thump, thump—
Then, the sound of their rapid footsteps echoed, growing louder in my ears.
As I waited, holding my breath, the creak of the door hinges joined the sounds.
"I'll start."
Realizing the door had opened, Sylvia pulled the trigger twice, as I had instructed.
In the dim living room, a flash of light erupted, followed by a deafening gunshot.
Thanks to this, the agents who had been about to enter retreated outside.
Silence followed.
They were probably pressed against the hallway wall, discussing through hand signals how to handle this situation.
'More precisely, they're probably discussing how to kill us.'
Since they had caused such a grand commotion at the banquet hall, they wouldn't be able to escape the Empire.
That meant their mission wasn't to kidnap the Princess, but to kill her.
However, the agents had no way of knowing exactly where the Princess was hiding.
They must have been startled by the gunshots as soon as they opened the door, and retreated in confusion.
Behind the sofa? Behind the bookshelf? Under the desk? Or had someone opened the door from another room and fired? All sorts of conjectures were surely running rampant.
Usually, at the end of such conjectures, a grenade makes an appearance.
It's common practice to throw a grenade in the direction they suspect an enemy is present, and then observe the reaction.
That was precisely the moment I was aiming for.
As I swallowed hard and focused my senses, it happened.
Click—
The sound of a grenade's safety pin being pulled tickled my ears.
Immediately, I activated my accelerated senses, rose from my spot, and drew my revolver.
Beyond the door, the agent about to throw a grenade in our direction appeared to move in slow motion.
I couldn't fail. Holding my breath for a moment, I carefully aimed at the grenade and pulled the trigger.
Gunpowder exploded, sending the bullet flying, and the world returned to its normal speed.
BOOM—!
The grenade, struck by the bullet, exploded, sending its fragments scattering in all directions.
"Aargh!"
"Ugh!"
The agents, directly hit by the fragments, broke the silence with their screams.
I had just finished using accelerated senses and felt like vomiting, but I couldn't miss an opportunity like this.
"Your Imperial Highness."
"I understand!"
As Sylvia and I stepped into the hallway, an agent, still alive, pulled a pistol from his coat.
Before I could deal with him, Sylvia pulled the trigger first.
Bang!
The agent, a bullet lodged in his forehead, let out a dying gasp and quietly bowed his head.
I looked around with relief, to see the other agents sprawled as corpses.
We had eliminated eight agents in an instant, but we couldn't relax yet.
"Your Highness. Other agents who heard the gunshots will be swarming here. They wouldn't have deployed only eight men for a mission like this."
"Then we need to escape this place as soon as possible…"
No. It was too late. From the central staircase in the hallway, footsteps were approaching again.
—They're upstairs! The Imperial Princess is upstairs!
—Tell everyone to gather! Shoot on sight!
—Top floor of the hotel! Block their escape!
My breathing grew ragged with tension. Cruelly, Sylvia was the only one I could rely on now.
"This way!"
I grabbed Sylvia's wrist and ran blindly towards the end of the hallway.
Sylvia, running after me in confusion, shouted loudly.
"Daniel! That's a dead end!"
"It's not a dead end! The wall is made of glass, isn't it!"
"What do you mean by that…!"
Sylvia, realizing my intention, gasped, her eyes wide.
"Are you saying we're going to jump out through there?"
"Yes! The stairs and elevators will be overrun by them, so this is our only option!"
"What foolish talk…! Suicide isn't an option!"
It was frustrating. I turned to Sylvia and said,
"Your Highness can use spatial magic, can't you!"
"How do you know that…? No! It's not perfect! It only works within my line of sight!"
"I see! It's a good thing this is the top floor of the hotel, then!"
I wasn't sure if the situation was absurd or if I was going crazy, but a laugh escaped me.
As I ran, I raised my revolver and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three bullets struck the reinforced glass, creating cracks.
At the same time, agents shouted from the central staircase.
"There they are!"
"Open fire! Orders from above are to kill on sight!"
I pushed off the floor and leaped, crashing into the glass wall.
CRASH! The glass wall shattered into countless pieces, its fragments scattering everywhere.
Sylvia, holding my hand, also soared gracefully amidst the glass fragments.
However, our suspension in the air lasted only a fleeting moment.
"Eek!"
Unable to defy gravity, we soon began to descend towards the ground.
The wind whipped through my hair and uniform, while Sylvia's dress skirt fluttered like a flag. It was white.
"Your Highness!"
At my shout to snap out of it, Sylvia, who had been dumbfounded, took a deep breath and nodded.
Sylvia, taking in the rapidly approaching scenery of the Old City, chanted a short spell.
Immediately after, Sylvia and I were enveloped in a brilliant white light.
***
When I opened my eyes, Sylvia and I were still suspended in mid-air.
But the ground was close.
Clutching Sylvia, I hit the ground with my shoulder.
"...!"
My body jolted, and a sharp pain shot through me, but it was bearable.
Before the pain subsided, I looked around and sighed in relief that there were no people nearby.
All I could see were broken records and shattered furniture.
It looked like a collection point for discarded household items.
"Agh…"
Sylvia, who had been stirring in my arms, raised her upper body.
Perhaps it was right after using spatial magic, but she seemed to be feeling dizzy.
However, she soon regained her composure and looked at me.
"...Are you alright?"
It was unexpected. I thought she would ask first if we had successfully escaped.
"Yes. I'm perfectly fine."
I placed my hand on the ground and stood up.
As I looked down at Sylvia, who was still sitting on the ground, her appearance was a mess.
Not only was her hair, which had been neatly combed, disheveled, but her luxurious evening gown was also stained with dust and blood, a complete wreck.
Despite all that, her sapphire earrings and necklace gleamed perfectly in the moonlight, which was ironic.
…Huh? Moonlight?
When I looked up, the ceiling was completely open, as if it had collapsed.
The stars, densely scattered across the sky, were clearly visible.
In our haste, had we just chosen any place to hide?
Thinking how we ended up in such a place, I extended my hand to Sylvia.
"Please stand up. The ground is cold."
Sylvia nodded and took my hand to stand up.
To check Sylvia's condition, I slightly bent my upper body.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No. Fortunately, I'm not hurt… Wait."
Sylvia, her face flushed, pushed my upper body away.
Her tightly closed eyes held a strange annoyance.
"Don't you sometimes think you're a little too close?"
"...I was merely concerned for Your Highness's safety."
"I know. I do know… Sigh. Never mind. More importantly, are we safe now?"
"We should be. They won't be able to track us to where we escaped using spatial magic."
Even if that were possible, the Imperial Guards would arrive first.
Since the Aetherium Conversion Bomb detonated, the Imperial Guards would have been dispatched immediately, so they should be entering the Old City by now.
Sylvia seemed to think so too, as she nodded once and stepped away from me.
After that, an awkward atmosphere settled between Sylvia and me.
When the situation was urgent, we had exchanged jokes and talked to each other, but now that it was resolved, an inexplicable awkwardness had taken root between us.
Moreover, a subconscious thought permeated my mind: 'The closer I get to Sylvia, the further away my discharge might become.' This made it even harder to show any familiarity.
Besides, I couldn't casually speak to the Imperial Princess, one of the most noble figures in the Empire, in such a familiar manner.
So, as I tried to kill time until the Imperial Guards arrived, Sylvia cautiously broke the silence.
"...Daniel. Do you happen to know how to dance?"
Dance? I shook my head.
"I've only seen it from afar; I've never properly danced. As you know, I'm an orphan, so I'm not well-versed in social skills like dancing. But why do you ask so suddenly?"
"Just because. I thought it would be better to dance than just pass the time idly. And there's still time left until the banquet ends."
She wasn't wrong, now that I thought about it.
The banquet was supposed to end at midnight.
"Your Highness. While I would dearly love to accompany you, my skills are quite humble…"
"I'll teach you. It's not that difficult."
Hmm. If she was going to insist like this, I couldn't refuse.
"Then I shall accept your instruction."
"Good."
Sylvia approached and took my hand.
"Just follow along."
With that, Sylvia raised my hand diagonally and began to step.
Perhaps out of consideration for me, a novice, her steps were quite slow, but even so, I struggled to follow.
My feet got tangled a few times, making me stumble awkwardly, and Sylvia couldn't help but burst into laughter.
I felt unnecessarily embarrassed.
"...I told you I couldn't."
"You'll improve with practice. Now, again."
Sylvia moved her feet again, and my feet followed hers.
After repeating the movements several times, I was able to imitate Sylvia to some extent.
Something clumsy, yet resembling a dance, had been created.
As we continued our dance, illuminated by the moonlight, the sound of a helicopter could be heard in the distance.
"Your Highness. The Imperial Guards…"
"Don't stop."
I was about to say that this was no time for childish whims, but I paused.
Because Sylvia was smiling faintly, as if she were enjoying herself.
It was completely different from when she had danced expressionlessly at the banquet.
For some reason, I didn't want to spoil Sylvia's enjoyment.
So, I clumsily moved my feet, and the ensuing dance became a round dance, adorning the end of the waltz.
As I stood there, bewildered that we had danced the waltz to its end, Sylvia let go of my hand and looked at me.
"Remember this. You should be able to dance at least this much, so you won't be looked down upon anywhere."
While I struggled to come up with a suitable reply, the sound of the helicopter circling above began to draw closer, until the whirring of its propellers was directly overhead.
"Your Imperial Highness!"
At the sudden shout, I looked up to see an old general, nearly sixty, standing armed in the helicopter's boarding bay.
The general quickly took out the radio slung over his shoulder and pressed the transmit button.
"Headquarters! This is the Old City, Alter Markt, 87th Street, waste collection point! Imperial Princess and Captain Daniel have been found! Both are safe, aside from minor injuries! Send immediate support to this location! I repeat! This is the Old City…"
Now that I truly felt we were safe, the tension began to drain from me.
Sylvia and I, both exhaling sighs of relief, naturally met each other's gaze.
We both stood still for a moment, then, without a word, let out a silly laugh.
It was the tail end of spring.